When love is unrequited
by beautiful-mess13
Summary: Isabelle woke up one day realizing she was in love with Jace. There's just one problem though...Jace and Clary are madly in love with each other and Jace only sees her as a sister. What happens when love is unrequited?
1. How Could I?

**A/N This pairing is really unexpected but for some reason I just do think they're perfect for each other (not that I dislike Clace but seriously, Jace & Izzy hit things off well, don't they?) Rate and review! Characters might be slightly OOC.**

**Isabelle first-person POV**

_I __woke up one day and I kne__w__. I didn't know how it happened. What I DID know was that I was deeply in love with Jace __W__ayland. My adoptive brothe__r__. I had to wait 6 years for me to realize that._

_I __just have one problem, though: a certain redheaded problem. Jace is with Clar__y__.__And they're both madly in love with each othe__r__._

_Oka__y__, that part did hurt. It was just so stupid of me to have let this go on for so long. I __mean,__who knows what could've happened between him and I if I'd known then that I loved him? I could've made my move, or he COULD have, and we could've been togethe__r__. Even before Clary came along. It makes perfect sense, doesn't it? He hits on girls all the time... well, he used to. He didn't care about them. I date guys all the time, and I don't have the heart to even think about them. Right now you're probably thinking that we're both helplessly blind, and we probably are, but at this moment that doesn't seem to be the case for him. Jace has 'found' Clar__y__. He's supposedly found 'the one'.__And I couldn't care less about the fact that it kills me._

**Isabelle ****third-person POV**

Isabelle woke up to Alec's loud banging on her bedroom door at 2 in the morning. She wanted to do anything but stand up and open the door; even if she did she also wanted to shout at her beloved brother's face and throw something at him. But she didn't. The thought of being in love with someone has somehow 'tamed' her, and Alec has already been noticing. Sighing, she stood up and walked over to her door.

"What now, Alec?" she asked exhaustedly as she opened the door for her brother. She would never be able to understand why he had blue eyes, but that didn't matter.

"That's a new record, Iz. No throwing stuff or anything? You didn't even throw a FIT? Something's definitely wrong with you," he said, by way of greeting. Iz had to scoff.

"Okay, now that you mentioned it, I've changed my mind. Now where is that whip..." Alec defensively held up his hands.

"No! Alright, I was just kidding. Jace's sensor went crazy all of a sudden five minutes ago and we need to get going." Her heart leaped at the mention of his name, but made it a point to look indifferent in front of Alec.

"Demon? Where? And what kind?" she asked sternly, frowning, going back to her room and Alec following suit, sitting on her bed. She was suddenly all over the place; she crawled under the bed to retrieve two seraph blades, to her dresser where her whip sat coiled, to her wardrobe to get something sexy and stylish to put under her Shadowhunter gear. Whatever the occasion was, she always dressed to impress.

"Jace says he feels it's around the block across the street from ours, but I doubt that though."

Izzy's eyebrows shot up. She immediately came to Jace's defense. "Whenever Jace feels something and tells you about it he's never wrong," she said firmly, and this time it was Alec's eyebrows that reacted.

"Really," he said knowingly, but didn't elaborate. "As for the kind, since it's 'around the block across the street', it must be a Greater. The sensor doesn't usually pick up signals from that far away. And Jace wants to investigate up to the next few blocks." Iz nodded.

"Yeah, that's a great idea." She was putting on her boots as she got a well-deserved 'look' from Alec. "You seem to be in favor with Jace a lot lately these past few days."

Iz was on the defense all of a sudden. "What's so bad about that? Your _parabatai _is exceptionally good, Alec. Even you can't deny that fact."

Before Alec could respond, Izzy's door opened and Jace entered. Iz caught her breath at the sight of him but quickly regained her composure. _He was always glowing, wasn't he? _Coincidentally, he was out of breath and looking straight at her too, but not for the reasons Iz thought.

"We should get going. We need to be extra careful, though. Clary's coming with us."

Iz frowned. "I thought we agreed on this, Jace. Clary's not coming until we're sure she's ready and properly trained. It's too dangerous for her. And all of us, too."

Jace gave her a look that shattered her heart. It wasn't a look of despise, as he had never given her one, but something that rather suggested he and her aren't on the same page and wouldn't get along unless he gets what he wants.

"I thought you liked Clary. Why are you being hostile all of a sudden?" he, too, sounded quite hurt.

"No, that's not what I meant-"

"I decided I don't care. She's coming," Jace snapped. "This would serve as a good enough training session for her. Don't you think so, Alec?"

Iz and Jace looked at Alec at the same time, and Alec was unfortunately put in a tight spot. "I-I suppose," he said, shooting Iz a careful look. Iz responded by giving him a menacing glare that said quite plainly she wouldn't be talking to him for quite awhile.

"Fine, you win." _Y__ou always do_, she continued in her head. "Where is she, anyway?" Jace's expression seemed to brighten as he realized the case was won.

"She's on her way."

In ten minutes flat, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle were already out of the elevator and dashing through the main entrance of the Institute. Jace opened the heavy front door to a cold, bitter wind that was unfriendly to their faces. Iz shivered. On the front steps was Clary, hugging herself and puffing out warm breaths of air.

"Hey. You should've come in. It's freezing down here," Jace said concernedly as he reached over and gave her a kiss. Iz had to look away.

"I-It's fine," Clary said, teeth chattering. That made Jace back-hug her on the spot.

Iz tried her best to fight the tears away, and noticed Alec looking at her with a bemused expression on his face. She dodged his gaze, but the damage was done. He walked over to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"We're talking later. You understand? Brother to sister," he commanded. Iz could never say no to her big brother whenever he was doing his 'big brother' duties.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly, all thought of ignoring him gone. Alec nodded curtly and turned to the other two.

"We should get going. How's the signal, Jace?" he asked in a business-like fashion. Jace let go of Clary to check his weapons belt for the Sensor. An evil smile crept on his face.

"It's stronger," he said excitedly, the way he always did every time they were about to kill something. Killing, for Jace was kind of like a sugar rush. In his opinion, you had to have it in your blood. One of the many qualities Isabelle loved about him.

The four of them walked down the steps, Jace and Clary hand in hand and made a brisk walk for the block across the Institute.


	2. Struck Twice

The four Shadowhunters rounded the corner to the next block and was met by a couple of demons Jace didn't expect were present. Only thinking it was one Greater Demon, he felt angry for letting his companions be taken by surprise as he'd only told them what his assumptions were. All in all, there were four of them, but not much trouble in his opinion: Abbadon, the Greater Demon, an Oni, a Drevak, and a Raum. It was an odd assortment of demons, but Jace thought since the world was becoming steadily more evil by the hour it was something to be expected.

Izzy had her whip out at the sight of the four demons. Clary let out a squeal of surprise at the sight of them, and she almost laughed; she wasn't trying to be mean, but the fact that Clary's fighting skills were nothing compared to hers was quite comforting. Jace shot Clary a worried look then before looking at her, an apology forming in his eyes. It was an 'I should've listened to you' kind of look, and Izzy responded by shrugging her shoulders. _No backing down now_, she thought. Besides, she knew the presence of her and Jace there was already enough to save the group. As much as she'd hate to admit, Alec's skills were pretty mediocre too.

Wanting to prove how great she was at fighting, and to impress Jace at the same time she made her move towards Abbadon, which made Jace protest and fling his arm out in front of her.

"You don't get to do that, Iz, this one's mine," he said while pulling out a seraph blade and naming it _Samandiriel._

"Come on, Jace. You always get to kill the best ones. Can't you give this to me just this time? Clary's here," she reminded him under her breath, quietly enough for only the two of them to hear. She pointed at Clary, who was beside Alec and drawing a Stamina rune on his upper arm. "You would want to keep an eye on her, wouldn't you?" she asked slyly.

She felt Jace's defenses slip. "Fine, but just this time, Iz," Jace said, affectionately touching her cheek with his palm. His touch sent nerves tingling all over her body. "See you," she said, trying her best not to look too pleased with herself as she walked past him to close in on the demon.

Behind her, Jace was calling Clary's name out and tossing her a seraph blade. Alec was already taking on the Oni. Iz only had time to make sure that Alec was winning before Abbadon acknowledged her presence and went for her left leg. She deflected its attack with her whip just in time for her to make a rough escape. Her whip coiled itself around one of Abbadon's skeletal limbs and Iz jerked it hard, detaching the limb from its body. Just as the limb turned to dust, another one grew in its place. Izzy's eyes widened as she fumbled for a seraph blade on her belt.

She was momentarily distracted as Jace yelled, 'Look out!' to Clary which made her turn and look at the scene behind her. Jace was impaling the Drevak, which left Clary the Raum, the weakest one. Clary was doing badly with her blade and Jace had shouted to warn her as she turned away from the demon. _Stupid Clary!, _she thought furiously.

Isabelle barely had time to look back as Alec shouted "Iz!" before Abbadon struck her hard on her upper right arm, causing her to loosen her grip on her whip and a deep gash to form on her skin. She was bleeding badly within a few seconds.

"You bastard," she cursed loudly as she felt the poison weaken her instantly. There was one rule you always had to follow when you're a Shadowhunter and you're in combat: _never _let a Greater demon get its poison in your blood. Alec made a run for her but the Oni blocked his way, leaving him no choice but to deal with it first. Jace was looking at her then, deep concern in his eyes as Iz staggered and almost fell; but his main concern was Clary, who was doing no good with the Raum and was making a beeline for her. He'd already finished on his own target and was aiming at the Raum. Alec shouted behind the Oni.

"Jace, go and help Isabelle! Clary can deal with that on her own!" but Jace wasn't listening.

With no one to help her, Isabelle managed to pull out a seraph blade with her left hand and name it Gabriel. Carefully avoiding Abbadon's attacks, she concentrated hard on her target and threw the blade straight to where the demon's heart should've been, if it had one. The blade sunk deep into the demon's chest, making it wail a disturbingly devastating sound that shattered her eardrums. Snatching her whip from where it had fallen when she'd dropped it, she used her left hand to maneuver it around the demon's neck and was about to tighten her grip when the demon struck her again, this time hitting her left arm. She gave a gasp of surprise as the next wave of nauseating pain made her knees week and she fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. Abbadon was already moving on top of her and was aiming at her heart when out of nowhere Alec appeared and yanked the dangling end of her whip where she'd last left it. With a sickening crunch the head was detached from the rest of the body and started to disintegrate.

Alec was shouting angrily.

"Jace, you idiot! I told you to help Iz! Damn," he said, looking down at Izzy and seeing her wounds closely for the first time.

"Dammit, Izzy, why didn't you leave the demon to Jace?" he exclaimed as he knelt beside her, Jace and Clary rushing to his side. Clary was still holding her seraph blade, looking more hopeless than she'd ever been.

Jace swore loudly. "Two wounds," he said, looking at Izzy's arms.

"Thank you for noticing," Izzy said weakly, her senses weakening.

"Damn you, Jace," Alec said again, and Jace retorted this time. "Iz wanted to deal with it on her own! And I didn't know it was this bad," he said. "Clary was cornered by the Raum and I-"

"You just had to help her first, didn't you? Even though you knew Isabelle was in a greater deal of trouble? You shouldn't have come," Alec spat nastily at Clary, who looked hurt. "If something bad happens to Iz, Jace, I seriously am going to kill you."

Jace looked guilty more than anything. "We don't have much time. Two wounds would cause the poison to spread two times faster than it normally would-"

Alec lost all control and raged at Jace.

"Normal? NORMAL? You call this normal? And you should have thought of that five minutes ago!" Alec had never been so angry before, Iz thought as she struggled to keep herself conscious. Clary courageously spoke at that moment. Iz knew that what had Alec said must've hurt, and reluctant as she was her respect grew for the other girl.

"Stop. Alec, you need to call Magnus. Now."

Alec was about to shout at her just as Izzy made a choking noise and spat a mouthful of blood. He seemed to think the better of it as he realized how worse Izzy's condition was becoming. He pulled out his phone from his pocket as he reached for his sister's hand. Jace reached for Izzy's other hand despite the dirty look Alec threw him. Alec dialed Magnus' number and he answered on the first ring.

"Magnus. It's me. Isabelle's hurt."


	3. We're Invisible

**A/N Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews/ story alerts/ favorites and thank you for reading this. :) Characters may be slightly OOC. Hope you like it.**

Isabelle had fainted just when Alec got off the phone and woken up in Magnus' penthouse a few minutes later. Someone had laid her on the couch and put on some fresh clothes. A blanket was lying on top of her, and everything felt fuzzy and warm. The atmosphere was silent until her senses refocused and she realized there were two people arguing in the room.

"She could've been killed! And you decided to save your little girlfriend first!"

"-Lay off Clary, Alec! It was my decision, not hers! The only reason I did that was because

I trust Izzy's skills-"

"Don't you even go there! By the Angel, Jace, I thought you knew better-" "Both of you SHUT UP," Magnus said in an irritated tone. "She's awake."

Iz looked over at Magnus, who was standing in the center of the living room near shouting Jace and Alec, who were both stopped in their tracks and who simultaneously shouted 'Iz!' as they looked in her direction. They came over to her in hurried footsteps, Alec shooting Jace a death stare and kneeling down beside the couch. Alec took his sister's hand and squeezed it.

"How are you feeling?"

" 'M fine, Alec. Thanks to Magnus," she said gratefully, giving Magnus a thankful smile. Magnus nodded curtly and said, "Well, if you need me...don't," and went up the stairs to his bedroom. Alec followed Magnus with his eyes as he climbed up the stairs, but turned back to Iz as soon as he was gone.

"And please don't give Jace such a hard time," Izzy said. "Who says I'm giving him a-"

"Don't even try to pretend, Alec. Firstly because you suck at it, and secondly I woke up to you snapping at each other's throats." Jace looked embarrassed while Alec retaliated.

"If he hadn't been such an ass, this wouldn't have happened to you." Iz was momentarily surprised at hearing her brother swear for the first time. She held up her hand to silence him.

"Stop it. Jace did that for obvious reasons, and I completely respect those reasons." Alec looked betrayed.

"You could have died, Isabelle! Why are you siding with him on this?" Izzy felt hot in the face. "I understand why he did that Alec, so I'm rather hoping you would too."

That seemed to have an effect on Alec.

"Fine. I'm leaving you two to talk." He stood up to leave. Just as he was about to ascend the stairs up to the second floor, he looked back at Jace.

"Just because she's not mad at you for doing what you did doesn't mean I'm not," he said, but he didn't sound so angry this time. Iz knew that meant her brother's anger with Jace had already abated.

"I love you too, Alec," Jace called after him as he raced up the stairs. The moment they were alone, Jace looked at Izzy's face, his eyes ablaze and full of guilt. Iz was finding it hard to look back at him. He took her hand in his and twined his fingers around it. Izzy's heart was racing a mile a minute.

Jace took a deep breath before speaking. "Izzy, you have every right to be mad at me. I'm terribly sorry. You were right; I shouldn't have brought Clary along."

Izzy's voice was pained when she spoke.

"It's not your fault and neither is it Clary's. I was being stupid, thinking I could deal with that demon alone."

Jace's voice was tender as he replied. "Hey, don't say that. You're one of the best fighters I know."

Iz smiled sheepishly, but her mind suddenly wandered to Clary.

"Where's Clary? She must be feeling awful. What Alec said kind of hurt." Jace smiled sadly and said, "I sent her home. She was rather feeling upset that you got hurt, thinking it was because of her. She doesn't blame Alec for what he said in the slightest."

Despite the pain inside Clary was causing her for being with Jace, Iz felt bad for her friend. "Jesus, Jace. Just...tell her I'm sorry for what Alec said, okay? This was nobody's fault but mine. She doesn't have to go through this."

"Quit saying that, Iz. This won't happen again, I promise. I'll be by your side at all times from now on. Clary will have to stay away from this for awhile."

Izzy was supposed to feel great about this, that she'd finally have a perfect excuse to spend more time with him, but she knew feeling that would be wrong. Wrong on so many levels. If she loved Jace, she would want him to be happy, wouldn't she? She didn't deserve this.

"You don't have to do that. I can deal with things on my own. And besides, I understand why you did it. I would've done the same thing." She hadn't meant to say that last part, but it just escaped out of her. Maybe she was just looking for a way to say those things out loud.

"Oh. For Simon, you mean?" Jace teasingly asked. Iz frowned and shook her head.

"Why would you think that I like him? I don't," Iz said firmly. She knew she'd tried once, and many times to the others too, but there was always something...lacking.

"Thank God. But who, then, is this lucky guy? How come I've never met him?"

Iz smiled. Oh, the irony. She tried her best to hide her pain. "That's not important." Jace pushed her harder. "What, is this some random guy you met at Pandemonium?

Some other club? Is he a mundane?" Izzy looked down and realized Jace was no longer holding her hand.

"That's not important," Iz repeated, more firmly this time. Jace frowned at that. "I believe it is. Hiding secrets from me now, are you? I'd find out about him one way or another." _I sure hope you don't_, Izzy thought.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Jace looked behind him, unsurprised.

"That's Simon," he said, not even trying to hide his hostility and looked at Izzy's inquiring face before answering.

"It's on Alec now. He told him because he thought Simon would care about your 'whereabouts'. If you ask me, I think he's just trying to have someone on his side. Trying to have as many people to hate me as much as possible. I better go upstairs before he bites me." Izzy half-smiled and nodded at Jace, who followed the other's destinations and went upstairs.

She sighed as she said "Come in," to Simon who opened the door and closed it behind him with as much grace as any vampire would have. Iz realized he was holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Hey," she said, feeling sorry for him. She would never be able to love him, no matter how hard she tried. And yet here he was, being so sweet and thoughtful and unknowing.

"These are for you."

"You didn't have to, Simon. But thanks anyway. You're so sweet."

Simon smiled and put it on the small table beside the couch. He looked around the room before saying, "Where's Jace? I'm gonna have to kill him. The bastard."

Iz felt outraged at Simon. Who's the eternally damned now? "He's gone. And wouldn't you have agreed with him? He did it for Clary."

What Izzy said caught Simon off guard. He looked torn.

"I know, but...Alec told me Clary could've dealt with that on her own and he said you were fighting the demon who also almost killed him. I mean, your situation was graver, wasn't it?"

Simon sat down on the floor beside the couch. He made a move, as if thinking about holding her hand but suddenly withdrew his hand back, deciding against it. Izzy shrugged.

"Yeah, well...things happen when things happen."

Simon seemed to have finally gathered the guts to do what he wanted to do and reached for her hand.

"You're right. When you recover and things get back to normal, maybe we should start talking about how...things should be." He looked at her meaningfully.

Iz slowly untwined her hands from his, making his face fall. She didn't want to hurt him like this, but she can't keep on pretending that things between them were getting better.

"I don't know if we've talked properly about this, Simon, but... I just want you to know how I feel about you. I like you only as friends."

That didn't seem to dampen Simon's spirits. On the contrary he looked rather hopeful. "I know, Isabelle, I've sort of seen that coming. But I'm not pressuring you into doing anything. I mean...maybe you'd change your mind about me. Maybe you can finally learn how to...how to like me. _Like _like me. I'm willing to wait for you, you know?"

Iz slowly shook her head. "You don't understand, Simon. I'm sorry if you ever felt like I was misleading you. But I just can't do that. It's...it's complicated."

"How? How is it complicated?" "I'm in love with someone else."

Simon's eyes widened in surprise. He was silent for a long time before he spoke. "Who is it?"

Isabelle didn't have the heart to keep the truth from him any longer. He at least deserved her honesty, even if she knew it would hurt him even more. She hates the fact that she can't seem to be able to do anything other than hurt him.

"Jace."


	4. Daylighter

**A/N Happy new year everyone! Here's a little Simon angst for you. Thought you'd like this so I posted it anyway even if it's a little short. Hope y'all like it!**

Simon's eyes were already filled with tears the moment he turned away from Isabelle's face.

She had been in love with Jace all along.

Jace, that asshole of a Shadowhunter. Jace, who had captivated every single girl he had ever laid his eyes on. Including his best friend.

Jace, who takes everything away from him. And who was he, thinking he had something against the golden boy? He was just a screwed up little mundane who got dragged into their Invisible world unwillingly by his best friend, got turned into a vampire and made him turn away from everything he ever loved. He heard Isabelle's voice from far away, calling his name. The pain in her voice almost made him want to turn back, but he held his ground. With an angry wipe at his face with the back of his hand, he wrenched the door of Magnus' flat open. He slammed it right back behind him as he bolted down the stairs and ran out of that damned apartment. He shouldn't have come. He shouldn't have had his hopes up. Everyone had been right; Isabelle wasn't right for him. Why didn't he listen to them? Clary had warned him about this. But then again everything was going great until that bastard ruined everything. Again.

Things like that were always unexpected, weren't they? Clary falling in love with Jace. Simon falling in love with Isabelle. Both of these things they didn't see coming, and both shouldn't even have happened. And now another heavy blow had come down upon him: _Isabelle falling in love with Jace_. What did the devil do to make her fall for him?

He was briskly walking down the street now, going to God knows where his feet were taking him. He didn't even mind the stares he was attracting; he was too distracted with his own raging thoughts. He thought about Clary and how he was madly in love with her for ten years. Isabelle came along and proved it wasn't meant to be, that he and Clary were only meant to be best friends. God, he was madly in love with Isabelle. He still is. For a moment he thought she was too; he knew he could make her feel things she couldn't for the others. But then perfect, glowing Jace had fucked him up for the last time.

Screw him. Screw everything. He is going to get his revenge. In one way or another, he is going to get back at Jace Wayland.


	5. Intervention

It had been a few days after the demon attack, and Isabelle's health was back to normal. The only problem was her emotional disposition.

The days following the Simon incident had been a rollercoaster of pity, sadness, guilt, and hopelessness; all these negative feelings rolled into one. Izzy can't remember a time she'd been this unsettled. Now she sat on her bed in her room alone, refusing to talk to anyone, including Jace. She felt like there were a million other things she could've done to spare Simon's feelings but didn't. But then what _could _have she done? There was nothing left to feel but pain. Pain on her part, pain on Simon's part. How could she help him if she couldn't even help herself?

That's not to mention her thoughts for Clary. She knew that the girl, too, must be having it hard after all Alec had said. She'd wanted to go to her place to personally apologize on his behalf ever since, but couldn't quite find the guts to. With a sigh of disappointment she stood up and went over to her desk to stare at herself in the mirror. She looked dreadful.

Finally making a decision she went to her wardrobe to change. Nothing would clear her mind better than a shopping day alone with herself.

Managing to sneak out of the Institute without anyone noticing, she smiled to herself as she rode the elevator down the Institute's main hall. It was cold for a Monday afternoon, and everybody was either taking Greek and Latin or training. Pretty much everyone had been shaken up by her attack, including her parents, so they insisted she take the rest of the week off while they train. It was a good excuse for Isabelle to think things over. She walked briskly past the altar and reached the bolted door. The moment she opened it she was surprised to find herself face-to-face with none other than the redhead herself, her hand outstretched, about to open the door. Both were out of breath.

"Clary-"  
>"Isabelle-"<p>

It was Isabelle who had spoken first.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, remembering the last time she'd seen her. Clary looked taken aback.

"I came here to visit you, see how you're doing...among other things." The way she'd said that made Isabelle think Clary was there for a deeper, more important reason. She stepped out onto the steps and closed the door behind her.

Izzy took her chance.

"Look, Clary, I'm sorry for everything Alec had said. I knew he didn't mean it and-" Izzy was surprised as Clary held up her hand to stop her.

"It's ok, don't bother, alright?" she said. Izzy stared at her fixedly as Clary looked down before looking back at her again.

"Iz, how could you?"

Isabelle was speechless for a long moment. She stared questioningly at Clary, at the same time feeling a tug at the pit of her stomach. Somehow, she had already known all along the reason why Clary even took the time to see her here. She just didn't like to acknowledge it. She was hoping Simon would take it in as quietly as she did, but of course he never did hide anything from his best friend, did he?

She sat down at the top step and motioned at the other girl to do the same. Casting a look at her surroundings she couldn't figure out how to start the conversation properly and just said the first thing that came to her mind.

"What did he tell you?" she asked, feeling a little cruel. After all this time, she still cared if Clary found out or not?

"That's not important." Clary said, making Izzy relieved. Clary never dismissed things happening around her unless she actually knew about them.

"Isabelle, you broke him." Clary's tone broke Isabelle's heart this time. Her voice was weakened by the fact that what Clary had said was actually true.

"Believe me, Clary, I didn't mean to," Izzy said, her tone pleading. Clary looked at her disbelievingly.

"You made him believe you were in love with him. You could've just told him you weren't. He was crying, Izzy. He can't even say his name."

Izzy's heartbeat quickened. Now she was just stammering.

"At first I-I thought I was," she said, trying to make the other girl comprehend. Was it really her fault? If Clary knew, would she blame her?

"He was in love with you too, remember? And how did you deal with that?"

"This is not about me. It's about you," Clary said, surprising Izzy. Her quick comeback somehow made Isabelle envious that she couldn't do the same. Clary talking to her right now...couldn't she relate, couldn't she think about how she once also made him feel? But he was her best friend, Izzy argued with herself, they understood each other. And for that Izzy was even more envious.

"I mean...did he even know him before you...you told him? Do I know him?" Clary asked. Isabelle swallowed hard. "I can't tell you," she said quickly, shaking her head fast. Clary blinked, surprised.

"Why can't you tell me? You're my friend," she said. Izzy shook her head once more. She won't go there. She won't even consider going there.

"Matters like these are between Simon and I, Clary. I know, you're concerned. I would've been too, if I were you. But..." she looked at Clary uncertainly, but her voice was firm.

"I know, it's none of my business. But it's just so...so... abrupt for you to have 'fallen' for someone like this. How is that even possible?" the girl asked again, clearly unaware that what she was doing was an intrusion of privacy.

"You know, Clary...if I knew the answers to that, I would've already told you."

Isabelle knew that she wasn't being entirely truthful, but Clary finding out the truth, she knew, wouldn't be that much help. In fact, she already had a vague idea how chaotic things would be if everyone found out about this little 'secret' of hers. Her falling for Jace and everything. If one would look at it through his own point of view, he'd surely be finding it odd. Isabelle didn't know how to explain how such a thing could happen, either.

Clary must have realized Izzy's attempt at a closure and didn't press the point.

"Alright. I hope you know, Iz, that I'm doing all of this for you and Simon. You two are my closest friends. I care about the both of you." Izzy nodded at that and stood up. Clary followed suit.

"Just...tell him I'm sorry, okay? For everything. I don't think I'd be able to talk to him for awhile." Clary nodded and agreed.

"Just remember...whenever you feel like talking to someone other than the people you normally talk to, I'm right here." Clary said, smiling.

At that, Izzy felt another stab of guilt. Even though she knew Clary was acting mainly on Simon's behalf, it wasn't her obligation to talk to her and be there like she'd been doing, and yet she was here. And she was nice enough to actually offer help. Somehow, Iz felt like she was cheating behind Clary's back by not telling her that she was in love with her boyfriend, the very person that was supposed to be a brother to her. It all felt very confusing and she wished things weren't that difficult.

If only she felt different for Jace. If only she didn't take the time to realize the obvious. Isabelle felt herself smile and hug Clary while uttering a soft 'Thank you' to her. Clary gave her an affectionate pat on the back in return.

"Now, where were you supposed to be headed?" Clary seemed to remember. Her forced attempt at a subject change and sounding light made Isabelle oddly grateful. Iz forgot it for awhile, too, and now she wasn't in the mood to shop alone anymore.

"Actually, I was headed to the mall. Supposedly, alone. But I'll feel so much better if you come." Clary accepted the invitation and walked down the remaining steps of the Institute as Iz followed.

In the back of her mind, Izzy realized that even though a part of her and Simon may be breaking, there might still be a chance to put everything back together, the way things should be. And that night, when she gets home she decided it was time for a talk with her big brother.


	6. If I'm Louder

**A/N Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter! Sorry it had to take this long, but I just got caught up in school work and procrastination and/or laziness :| Anyway I hope you guys like this one, it's to compensate for the length of the Daylighter chapter so I hope you don't mind. Rate&Review :)**

Isabelle and Clary spent a good three hours in the mall, Isabelle trying her best to forget everything that's happened even for just awhile, dragging Clary to the most luxurious shops and making her try every single dress she thought looked good on the redhead. She knew Clary wasn't having a good time just as much as she was enjoying herself and she knows that she was only putting up with this partly for her. Which, as she came to think of it, made her highly grateful.

"Izzy, let's just go home. I look terrible," Clary mused in front of the mirror, wearing the shortest black dress Isabelle could find. Iz couldn't help but laugh.

"You need glasses, Clary. You look gorgeous in that dress. The boys would come running." This obviously hadn't been a good thing to say.

"I don't need boys to come running at me," Clary defended. "I already have one. And he's all I need," she said, smiling.

Isabelle looked down and thought of the best way to retaliate without sounding hurt in the slightest.

"Alright, you don't want that dress? Then it's mine," she concluded, seeing a look of utter disbelief on Clary's face.

"You want…this short of a dress? This would be a shirt on you," she protested, entering the changing room to get away from the dress.

"You know what that's exactly the kind of look I'm going for," Izzy replied, wondering whether Jace would look at her differently when she wears it, which was a horrible, horrible thought. She dismissed it just as quickly as it came to her.

"Come out so I can pay for that."

Dusk was falling as they left the mall and hailed a cab to the Institute which, to mundanes was disguised as a mangled but innocent-looking church. The driver gave them a peculiar look when they told him their destination but probably thought better than asking. Clary dropped by the nearest stop to her house and told Isabelle she'd be fine walking home; Isabelle really didn't bother arguing for she was tired herself. Plus, she still has one more agenda left that night.

The Institute was in its usual quiet state, Isabelle's heels clanking loudly on the dusty altar floor. She opened the elevator door to Church the cat, snoring and curled up like a ball on the warm wooden floor. She felt her heart hammering again as she rode up to their floor and got out, walking past her room to Alec's, not bothering to take all the shopping bags to her room first. Alec would be more surprised if she didn't have bags along with her when he finds out she went out shopping.

She stopped in front of her older brother's room, trying to calm herself and make her breathing slow down. She's absolutely sure her brother knows it by now; she knows she's not at all capable of keeping secrets from him even if she wanted to. She paused before knocking three times on the door.

The door flew open in a matter of seconds, almost as if Alec was already expecting someone to be there.

"I was wondering when you'd come," he said, by way of greeting, looking down at the shopping bags at Isabelle's feet.

"You went shopping? Good. Who with? Or you went alone?" he asked, not bothering to give time for Isabelle to reply and motioned to his room, taking some of the bags himself and throwing them in the corner.

"Hey, don't do that," Izzy replied, closing the door behind her and making a beeline for Alec's bed, as if it was her own. Alec scoffed but Isabelle ignored him.

"I was with Clary, by the way," she said, expecting the bewildered look on Alec's face. "You went shopping with _Clary_?" he asked, sitting on the only thing he could sit on, the sofa chair. Izzy looked at her brother first before replying, and noticed quite a difference. She was surprised.

For one thing, Alec wasn't wearing ugly clothes; Izzy frowned for a moment and realized he was wearing a _leather jacket. _Alexander Lightwood, wearing something decent and fashionable. She wanted to jump up and down to celebrate.

"You look nice, Magnus force it on you? I always thought he was a good influence," she said, smirking.

Alec had a pained look on his face. "He didn't just force me to wear it, he _bewitched _me to. He said I'd turn into something horrible if I didn't." Isabelle had to laugh. Magnus always had the upper hand in their relationship.

"Don't think I won't notice you trying to change the topic," Alec said, more seriously this time. "You went shopping with Clary. And I thought she was supposed to be mad at you for Simon."

Isabelle's eyebrows shot up. "How did you know about Simon? _Jace_," the two of them said in unison. It's quite obvious, isn't it? Clary wouldn't be able to not tell everything to Jace even if it's something he cared nothing about, and Jace, being Alec's _parabatai_, would surely tell it to him just so he could get the matter off his back. He hates being concerned about things like Simon. The little devil.

Isabelle took a deep breath. "Alright, what did he tell you? This complicates everything even more," she said out loud. Alec had to nod in agreement.

"Well, he said he wanted to tell me just because he found it funny," Alec recalled, looking like he was trying to suppress a smile which annoyed Isabelle. "He said something along the lines of 'Simon crying like a baby because Izzy broke his nutty little heart and complaining to Clary about it like she was his mummy'."

Alec paused and, seeing the look on Izzy's face, held his hands up in his defense. "That's how he said it! I'm only trying to quote the exact way he said it, with the tone and everything," he said. Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Go on," Izzy said, feeling nauseated about the fact that Jace had to find out about all of this. Clary was the one to blame, after all. She groaned.

"I think that's about it, before he roared in laughter," Alec concluded, looking at Iz before recalling something.

"…But he did wonder out loud whether 'who that man might be'. He said he tried to ask you but you didn't tell him, _which _I understand," Alec said, a look of comprehension on his face. "Because if I didn't, you wouldn't have come here."

That brings the matter to the spotlight. Isabelle looked at his brother steadily. "Just, tell me what you know, Alec. Or at least what you think," she said, falling back on his pillows. She stared up fixedly at the ceiling. Why does Alec have to be so smart?

"I think I know this because there was a time I was in your position too," Alec admitted, though the tone in his voice implied he didn't want to. That made Isabelle look him in the eyes again.

"There's really no point in denying that, Iz. Everybody knows I once looked at him as more than just a _parabatai. _So what I'm saying here is that you _are _in love with him, and I think that you're quite mad about it."

Silence ensued. Isabelle really didn't know what else to expect, but to look at the matter like that from his brother's point of view? Relating it to what once happened to him and Jace before?

"But… you didn't really love him, did you? I mean, come on, _Magnus_," Izzy replied. Now everybody knows Alec and Magnus can't live without the other. Not in this lifetime, at least.

Alec shook his head. "I don't. And I don't think I ever did. But you know what I think about you? I think you're in it because you're _really _in it. You really do love him."

"I guess…I suppose…yeah, I do. What do I do, Alec?" she asked helplessly. She was becoming more and more alarmed now. If Alec found a way to realize it hadn't been real, why couldn't she?

Is it probably because there was no escaping the fact that it IS real?

"Calm down, Iz. First things first: since when?" he asked incredulously.

"I dunno. Since forever, maybe. I only just realized."

"-You only just realized? Now? Not when we were still little kids?"

"No…I don't think so. Maybe I already did, but it kind of just existed as something I didn't acknowledge until I grew up and...got too busy with other stuff."

"-With other stuff you mean other boys, yes? Toying with them?"

"Yes, I-why do you have to put it THAT way, Alec? I'm not that bad!" Izzy cried in protest.

Alec shook his head. "Yeah, you're probably right. I forgot you're too good that you could actually make it look and feel like it's the real thing," he said knowingly. "You know, like that thing with Simon."

Isabelle had to sit up on his bed just to prove her point. "I did NOT play with Simon's feelings. I really did like him, it just wasn't good enough to-"

"-overpower your feelings for Jace? Yeah, I understand."

"Good. So now what do I do?" Isabelle asked, feeling more problematic by the minute.

"Easy. You just snap out of it."

Isabelle looked at his brother like she was seeing him for the first time. In the light of all that's happened, in the light of all her efforts to actually come to him to find some sort of direction or mature _brotherly advice, _Alec is actually telling her to just snap out of it like it was some sort of… trance? Like she was being hypnotized or something?

"_What? _Who are you and what have you done with Alexander Gideon Lightwood?"

Alec's expression was a cross between a frown and a grimace.

"What were you expecting, Iz? To tell you to 'go for it' like it's that easy, that if you tell him everything's going to be right in the world and he'd just tell you he loves you back? What do you think I'm supposed to tell you now that Clary's in our life? Huh? I don't like the idea of it," he admitted, looking at Isabelle apologetically. "But it's the only thing you can do. Now that it's too late."

Isabelle looked at Alec disbelievingly. She knows deep inside that Alec was making a clear point, that it's the only thing there is to it, but she was kind of _hoping _things wouldn't be like the way they are if she came to Alec for help.

Which was a stupid thing to think of. Alec's not a miracle-worker. In fact nobody is. It was her fault, after all.

She gave up the losing battle and laid back down on Alec's bed. "I hate it when you're right."

"I'm sorry, Iz," Alec said in a resigned tone. "But there's really nothing either of us could do. You don't want to go ruining a relationship, do you?"

"No, I don't."

Isabelle would give everything to be bad just for one moment, to do what she wants instead of what is right, to be the villain even just for once. But she knows she could never be that way. She closed her eyes and tried hard not to cry. She felt Alec's hand on her shoulder.

"It's going to be alright."

Little did they know, Jace was standing outside the door, listening to every word they were saying.


	7. Jace

**OOC: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU GUYS! HERE'S A LITTLE JACE MOMENT FOR YOU TO PONDER ON. I THINK YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THE STORY FROM HIS POV :)**

Jace stood outside the door blindly, still and silent, and for a moment he thought the world around him had slowed down. He didn't want to believe what he'd just heard, refused to believe his own ears... but then again hadn't it been his two siblings talking just beyond the door he was standing in front of? And Isabelle, Isabelle... Isabelle who was his sister he loved, the girl he'd grown up with and fought all his battles with... was in love with him. Isabelle was in love with him, and he never had an idea. And now he's bewildered at that very idea.

As quietly as he could, he walked away and went straight for his room, locking the door behind him and sitting on his bed. He recalled all those moments he'd had as a child, remembered Isabelle in every one of them. He remembered all those moments they had together; how she'd always wanted to cook for him, how they almost seemed to be in a love-hate relationship, how she dated all of those boys and never wanted them...

It felt wrong, everything felt wrong; he felt betrayed and disbelieving at the same time. Exactly how many times had he thought of dating Isabelle before Clary came? And how many times had he dismissed that thought? He always knew thinking about her that way was wrong, because she was his goddamn sister. It didn't even matter that they weren't related, her parents had always been his parents too. And now at this very moment Isabelle is there in her room crying her heart out because she can't have him, because he's in love with Clary.

What is he supposed to do now? Now that he knows what he wants and he's got everything he's ever wanted in front of him?

He didn't only feel betrayed, he also felt helpless. Alec would resent him. Forget parabatai. Isabelle is Alec's sister, and no one would be able to stand anyone who hurts Isabelle. Not even Alec. Isabelle is a woman who never gets hurt, never cries... and now the only reason for her tears is right beside her.

Now he understands, and perfectly knows that Simon wants to kill him. One of these days he's going to get him, and he's going to be so mad it might even tear him and Clary apart. But he won't let that happen. He was Jace Wayland, and he always gets what he wants. And right now he knows that he doesn't want to see Isabelle hurting, the only girl he'd ever really loved besides Clary.

Jace laid down on his bed for a long time, shifting thoughts in his head. Turning them over and over and over, looking for some kind of possible solution. He knew he had choices, he always had choices... but it was a choice between Clary and Isabelle. It was impossible for him to leave Clary.

And Isabelle, that stupid girl... if only she'd told him she'd liked him right before Clary came to their lives... who knows, maybe they actually had a shot at it? _Maybe they could have tried to make it work?_

And there was Jace Wayland, who for the first time was faced with a difficult question he couldn't and doesn't want to answer.


	8. Awkward

Jace wasn't able to sleep at all that night, after hearing about Isabelle's professed love for him through her door, something he shouldn't have heard and wants to kill himself for hearing. So instead he resorted to staring out his bedroom window all night listening to the sound of cars passing by the highway and watching the sun slowly come up.

He knew he'd look horrible the next day- and he sure did. His hair was wildly unkempt and his eyes had dark circles underneath them. Also, he was starving like mad and considered going to Taki's for breakfast, then decided against it. Later on he found himself doing what his instinct had always told him to do whenever he let it go wild under his control. He decided to go to Clary's. No, he just didn't decide to go to Clary's. He decided to go to Clary's so he could tell the truth about Izzy.

It was the only thing he figured was worth doing, something that would probably get matters out of his own hands (or at least have someone to share the burden of knowing with) and what better person to tell it to than his own girlfriend, right? And despite Clary not being a normal girl as he'd deduced, he figured Clary had an inkling of whatever weird stuff it was that girls were made of.

As he got dressed and got his phone out to let Clary know beforehand, he stopped in his tracks. Clary is Simon's best friend. He knew that no matter how much Clary loved him, he really can't let her decide between her best friend and her boyfriend. Simon, the Daylighter who was in love with... Isabelle. Isabelle, who (as crazy and awful as it sounds) was in love with him. He didn't need a full minute to know where this was headed to, if he decided to tell Clary about it. Simon would want to kill him.

That was assuming Simon didn't already know about this. Jace thought not, since if he did then he probably should be expecting an ambush from him right about now.

And he wouldn't be able to kill him back. He still had the Mark of Cain on him.

He sat back down on the bed, feeling depressed, wondering how on earth had he gotten himself in such a tight situation. He was a Shadowhunter, for God's sake. He needn't worry about this kind of thing. This was precisely the only kind of thing mundane teenagers worried about. While he, on the other hand, had killing demons and saving the world on his shoulders.

He weighed his options. He can't tell Clary about this. Obviously not Alec, who probably hates him now more than he'd like to admit. First off he'd almost let Isabelle die in the hands of the Greater Demon, and now Isabelle was moping because of him. Such a great parabatai he was. In short, he had no one to confide into, and it would have been okay had it not been Isabelle he were dealing with. He groaned in frustration.

A stronger need got the better of him and he decided to go down to the kitchen for breakfast, knowing that Maryse left something edible in the fridge. She always did. He walked out of his bedroom and into the hallway, passing by Isabelle's room as he went, trying as hard as he could to prevent himself from knocking. But almost as if she had read his mind, her doorknob turned and she got out, and Jace was staring at a shell-shocked Isabelle.

They stared at each other for a moment. Time itself had slowed down, and Jace, despite himself, felt uncomfortable. He tried on the best careless-looking face he could muster and smiled at her.

"Hey, Iz. I was just on my way down for breakfast. You hungry?" he hoped his voice was as nonchalant as it sounded in his head. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Uh, yeah, actually. I was just on my way down too," she replied, carefully not meeting his gaze. Jace hated the moment.

"Alright. Let's get to it then," he said, turning and walking ahead of Iz and not looking back, wincing inwardly.

Breakfast was torture. Neither of them spoke. Jace had tried staring her down through his tomato soup, hoping some sort of revelation would just occur right then so he could stop worrying about it. Isabelle on the other hand was determined not to look up at him. Carefully putting his spoon down, Jace decided to break the silence and go for an obvious attack.

"So, is Simon treating you well?" he asked in a cool voice, watching her intently. He watched as Isabelle, startled, looked up at him, a feigned look of curiosity in her eyes.

"Why do you ask? I mean," she blinked fast, "...why so random?"

"Just making sure I have no reason to kill him," he said rather menacingly, the way he always had.

She tried to brush this off by snickering. And she thought she was so clever.

"You don't have to. I mean, I broke up with him," she said, looking up at him, trying to match his stare-down.

Jace tried to act surprised. So she had already made her move. Of course. He wondered if she had already told Simon about him, too? This was getting dangerous.

In the most I-don't-give-a-shit way possible, he asked, "Why?" and got an impatient look from Isabelle in return. That, or she was nervous.

"Some reason you don't need to know about," she said, and with a smirk added, "Why are you suddenly so interested anyway? It's not like this has got anything to do with you in the first place," and returned to her pancakes.

Jace mumbled more to himself, but loud enough for her to hear, "Hasn't it."

Isabelle had her eyebrows raised, and Jace thought that this was it, wasn't it, he was past the point of no return.

"What?" was she said, probably hoping it sounded dubious.

"The last time I checked, Jace, the world didn't revolve around you and your arrogant ass," she continued in a haughty tone.

"Now if you're going to continue wasting my time, I might as well go up and get back to training," she finally snapped, again probably hoping for a quick escape, but Jace wasn't going to let her get away that easily.

"I heard you and Alec talking," he said as Isabelle stood up to leave.

"Last night. I heard you say something. About me. Care to talk about that, Isabelle?" he asked, and Isabelle had already frozen in place, her eyes widening.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she said as she turned away from him to take her plate to the counter. At that Jace actually laughed, shaking his head. He had thought better of Isabelle.

"I think you do," he pressed on, standing up himself. Isabelle turned back around to face him.

"Don't even bother denying it, Iz. I've been living with you since I was 12. You think you can fool mundanes that easily, and probably that Daylighter as well, but you can't fool me. Why, after all this time?"

Isabelle had resorted to looking down on the ground once again. He thought she was going to storm off like she always did, and this time she did, after she had looked up and her eyes were shining with tears. Jace was taken aback. The strongest girl he knew was crying in front of him, and before he could say a word, she had walked past him and out of the kitchen.

**OOC: here's the situation so far:**

**Alec, Simon, and Jace know about Isabelle's feelings. Clary doesn't know about Jace in particular, but she knows Iz left Si for someone else (kind of awkward if she finds out it was her bf but more on that later). Simon has no idea that Jace knows, in fact no one but Iz has, and the last time we've seen him Si is plotting his 'revenge'. Jace has probably figured it out by now, that Si knows, but he has no idea what to do. Does he tell Clary or confront Simon? Iz wouldn't budge and has decided to distance herself from it all.**

**Still trying to figure out how to go on from here. With Si's Mark he's pretty much unstoppable on his own, but he has a few tricks up his sleeve ;)**


End file.
